S. 5378, Fossil Fuel Lease Subsidy / Renewable Energy Reversal. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a net cost — and names who bears it.
S. 5378 · Net cost
What it does
This bill allows oil and gas companies holding leases adjacent to surrendered offshore wind energy areas to buy those wind lease areas at the original minimum bid price, without new environmental review. Any unclaimed wind areas revert to the federal inventory for oil and gas leasing. The bill bars the companies that surrendered the wind leases from bidding on them again, and freezes all new federal oil and gas leasing until the wind areas are either sold to adjacent leaseholders or offered for oil and gas development.
The analysis names oil and gas companies holding adjacent offshore leases — and 2 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The cost
The bill ratifies all prior environmental reviews for the original wind lease issuance and bars any new NEPA review for the conveyance to oil-and-gas operators, effectively exempting fossil fuel development on these tracts from current environmental scrutiny.
The analysis put a high warning level on this bill. Transparency scores 65%, and the analysis found no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Angus King. Cosponsored by Alex Padilla.